Why Do You Get Hooked ?

I've often pondered, why some games seem keep players playing long after the fun runs out.

Of coarse there are many answers to this question. Guilds, raids, PvP, crafting and housing are just a few.
But the thing we should really ask ourselves is, why did we get hooked in the 1st place.

Friday Update FLASH.... AAASSHHH !!!

Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan  FLASH.... AAASSHHH !!! Your the hero of the Universe.

Flash indeed, a nice Friday update.

Auction House V Player Vending (TOR Style)

No matter which MMO you tend to play you would of come across an Auction House (AH) at 1 time or another. It does the job that is was made for, but lets face it. The example below, does not promote any player interaction what so ever. 

Now we know TOR will have the AH, to sell and trade. But for me its lacking in so many ways, I normally stay away from these places if another option is open to me. But what other ways are there to go about this ?

Quesh, Poisoned Planet

I had a good feeling about this Fridays update, and I was not disappointed.

In a distant corner of Hutt Space, the poisonous planet Quesh orbited untouched for centuries, until the surprising discovery of rare adrenal chemicals drew the Galactic Republic to further explore this dangerous world. Unable to process the chemicals into adrenals, however, the Republic was forced to turn to the Hutts for help.
Recently, the Sith Empire learned of this secret and lucrative operation, and swiftly came to steal the prize. The battle over this toxic treasure may be one of the most brutal ground conflicts the galaxy has ever seen, but the winner will gain access to powerful adrenals and a source of extreme wealth.
Access the HoloNet to learn more about Quesh. Check out this video to visit the poisonous world, and don’t forget to visit the media section for never-before-seen screenshots, concept art, and wallpapers showcasing the planet.

The Fallen Few (Burnout)

Those of us that play MMOs and games over a prolonged amount of time. Know that at some point it may lead to burnout.

The very 1st time I came across this was back in the times of Ultima Online (UO). Not that I felt the burnout before many back then.

The name "The Fallen Few" arose when I created a guild, after many of those bigger guilds folded. This guild was made up of crafters, and hard core crafters. No combat skills allowed on any class other than Mage. As mage was needed in many craft skills and a must for moving around the map.
And on a plus side TFF also stood for Thank F@#K Its Friday. Something we all can look forward to.

The Importance Of Fridays

If you are following TOR in anyway shape or form, you will, like me look forward to those all important Friday updates.

These have given us that small glimpse, of what SWTOR will hold for us in the coming years.
Each and every Friday, we tune in and frantically bash out a steady rhythm with the F5 key.

Over the years, with a few exceptions of the conventions, and an exclusive gamer mag/site updates, this is where everything we know about TOR comes from. The relentless offerings each and every week, can take a turn for the better or worse.
I'm sure BioWare wish they had something each and every week to make the fans go wild and run naked in the streets, shouting TOR is my 1 true love.

TOR @ Pax East

 

Well as we expected BW will be showing TOR off at Pax East again this year.

And who knows what goodies will come from this years little run out. Beta, Release date and most likely some of the most compelling updates to-date.

Today is 1 of those days that you tend to wish your life away to make things go a little faster.

The Pax Reveal page can be found here, and as an added bonus StephenReid is asking what you thing that BW should bring along.

So! As part of today's update we've announced that we'll be exhibiting at PAX East this year. PAX East takes place in Boston, MA between March 11 and 13.

Now, it's too early for us to talk about what we'll be showing and talking about, but planning's underway.

What I want to discuss with you guys, though, is what kind of things you'd like to see that aren't related to gameplay or announcements. Oh, what cruel conditions.

With that in mind, what we're happy to hear ideas on are things like:

• What sort of activities we might have on our booth, eg demo suggestions, guests you'd like to see...
• What sort of activities we might have off our booth - including whether, for example, you'd like a community meet 'n' greet
• What sort of things you might like to see on the web to compliment and expand on PAX East - particularly if you're not able to make the show in person

Now, a few caveats. First - we don't promise to do anything, but I like to crowd-source. Second - we have a budget, and it's not 'unlimited'. Third - be constructive.

That's it. Now let's chat.

You can find the forum post here, there should be a few fun posts in this 1 for sure :)

Fan Friday + Studio Insider – Starship Creation

Everything you ever wanted to know about making ships. Along with the ever growing Community Q&A from last month. Makes for a some what pleasing update.

Oh and open PvP some what confirmed, in that BW type of way, well you know how they are :)
Ship update can be found here.

Q: Will players of one allegiance be able to visit the opposite allegiance’s planets? (asked by DarkLots)
A: There are certain planets within the galaxy that are only available to one allegiance or the other, but the majority of planets are open to the Republic and the Empire, allowing opportunities to - ahem - ‘encounter’ the other side should you so desire.

 Also we get another Fan Friday, with all the normal bells and whistles.

Find the rest of this Fridays Fan update over at SWTOR

The Great Divide

There's nothing like BioWares latest Friday update, to show you the massive divide in the way follows see each and every update.

Just form a simplistic stance i've placed these into 4 groups.

1. BioWare fan boy/girls
2. Lore junkies and RPer's
3. MMOer's and Gamers
4. The 4th fits in to 2 or more of the above.

Friday Update With Added Lore

Well I'm no fan of of most of the lore BW chucks out, though I guess some do like it.

Really I want game info, after all I'll be playing the game not ready a book at the end of the day.
This weeks gives us Biographies Update. Supreme Chancellor janarus, Darth-Jadus and Jewla Nightbringer.

And for the massive lore junkies get a load of this -






Well at least this was better that BW's attempt.

Quick VODCast Shout Out

Just a quick shout out, I'm sure you are a aware of The Republic VideoCast.

But did you also know of 2 more additions via YouTube ?

Well the 1st I came across some time ago, and is well on his way to getting a good following going. USWTORV is hosted by Aaron Thompson. He has at this time 10 uploads.

The 2nd I stumbled across just today, TORqued is hosted by Matt. This 1 is newest of the 2 with 5 uploads behind him already.

Both of the VODCasts take a very light hearted approach to there videos, and if you like your VODCasts in nice short 10 min slots I would recommend you head over to there site.

And if you don't still head over and show them some support.

My TOR Prodiction Tread

Be warned, most of this is jumble, my thoughts are all over the place in the post. I hope you get what I'm trying to say :)


Its not often I speculate on things to come, but I do like to put my thoughts down on what I hope things will turn out like.

So lets hope I don't get this way off the mark, and these are my thoughts and no real solid info behind them. Its just how I see the pre-release going in my own little world here.

So we ended 2010 on quite a strong footing, a little info on Crafting, a small look at battle grounds PvP and a sneak look at some of the skill trees. There where plenty more but these seem to stand out and are fresh in my mind for some reason.

Dev Blog Friday

As Far as Dev Blogs go this ranks along side the best.

New screens, 2 very nice video flash points, the 2nd being my all time favorite. Its akin to something to a Monty Python sketch.
"Pond this curd to the ground" ! ROFL. You know I'm going to use this in game for sure hehehe.

Over all this is a nice blog, you see things from a prospective that I myself would have never thought of. Like taken in what kind of camera angles to use, and how the does this place feel then on top of it what music is there to go with it.


Things that we just take for grated. But the complexity behind what goes in to these flash points is just above and beyond what I would of thought. Its nice to take a small step into the shoes of the people behind the scenes, if just for a moment. And better still that these unsung hero's let us take a look into there world.

You can find the rest over at SWTOR. 

Burn The Witch

Some of you may have noticed what transpired yesterday in the SWTOR forums.

About a poll I placed on the 28th of Dec 2010-2011 PodCast Of The Year. This poll was made in the spirit of Christmas, and although the outcome of this poll was less important than getting some interest for those of lesser known, but not lesser quality podcasts in and around SWTOR community.

I would dare say we all could of seen at least the top 3 and just the final positions up for grabs. My hope was to shed some light on those other podcasts out there.

PodCast Of The Year Results!!!

First off I would like to say that I'm sorry, that in my haste I did not have a closing date to this poll.

With it being the holidays I let it go a few days, so that anyone wishing to vote had ample time to do so.
And without any more delay he's your TOP 3 TOR PodCasts of the year.

In 3rd Place - The Republic Only adding to TOR this year, they held a very strong 3rd place by a wide margin. Taking an 18.5% of the over all vote.


In 2nd Place - Darth Hater A very close 2nd indeed, they had the lead for a day or 2 switching out with are eventual winners. Taken a very respectable 28.5% of the votes.

And are winners are TOROCAST It really was a 2 horse race from the offset. But here my friends are your very deserving winners of the 2010-2011 TOR PodCast of the year. Taken a 35% of the over all votes.


Thank you all for taking the time and voting for you Pod of the year. It just great for us as fans to have so many great Podcasts for a game that has not yet been released.